Lillo & Ella gets crafty with cocktails

Jack Rose: Applejack, lemon and grenadine.

A Strapping Young Man: Blackstrap rum, aquavit, five-spice syrup and coconut drizzle.

A Old Haunt Rita: Tequila, yuzu juice, orange bitters and wasabi syrup.

Shady Acres Houston isn't exactly known for its abundance of craft cocktail options. But Kevin Naderi is hoping that Houston knows there's at least one spot in the neighborhood that deserves to be a cocktail destination. And he owns it.

The chef/owner of Lillo & Ella, 2307 Ella, which opened in the spring, has built a drinks program that should attract cocktail enthusiasts to the small pan-Asian restaurant that is big on unexpected flavors. Offerings are divided between a handful of proprietary sippers and a variety of classic indulgences.

House-devised cocktails include Strapping Young Man (blackstrap rum, aquavit, five-spice syrup and coconut drizzle), Tin Foil Hat (gin, Suze bitters, rosemary and grapefruit), Zatoichi's Revenge (green tea-infused aperitif, celery bitters, sea salt and seltzer), and The Old Haunt Rita (a margarita made with yuzu juice, orange bitters and wasabi syrup - a nod to the previous tenant, El Gran Malo).

For a chef who admits he was a questionable bartender in his younger days, the opening of Lillo & Ella gave him an opportunity to put his toque-minded ideas into play when it came to cocktail offerings. Working with his bartenders to devise clever drinks was a creative endeavor said Naderi, who also owns Roost in Montrose. They went all in, making all their own syrups, even grenadine, as well as using fresh-squeezed juices and fruit/herb garnishes.

The fall menu provides a lot of warm, autumnal flavors; and it will change again in the spring. Drinks, too, are a relative bargain, with all cocktails on the menu priced at $9. Even better: the daily happy hour, from 4 to 7 p.m., offers $7 cocktails, $5 craft beers, and $7 glasses of wine. There's also a daily punch bowl cocktail that always sells out, Naderi said. "People like the draw of the punch," he said. "You can physically see into the bowl so you know what you're getting into."

Or maybe not. But that's all part of the fun of the Lillo & Ella spirits enticements.